Neuroscience Research Institute, Peking University, Department of Neurobiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Key Laboratory for Neuroscience, Ministry of Education, Beijing, PR China.
Res Dev Disabil. 2012 Jul-Aug;33(4):1136-46. doi: 10.1016/j.ridd.2012.02.001. Epub 2012 Mar 22.
Acupuncture increases brain levels of arginine-vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OXT), which are known to be involved in the modulation of mammalian social behavior. Transcutaneous electrical acupoint stimulation (TEAS) is often used clinically to produce a similar stimulation to that of acupuncture on the acupoints. In the present study, TEAS was applied to children with autism to assess its therapeutic efficacy. Seventy-six autistic children receiving rehabilitation training were divided into 2 groups: a treatment group receiving TEAS 30min per day, 5 days per week for 12 weeks (n=37) and a control group without TEAS treatment (n=39). A series of rating scales was used in outcome assessment. Plasma levels of AVP and OXT were determined by enzyme immunoassay (EIA) before and after treatment. The TEAS group showed a significant improvement over the control in their emotional response, fear or anxiety, level/consistency of intellective relations and general impressions on the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) as well as improvements in the sensory and related factors in the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC). In addition, the varieties of accepted food increased after TEAS treatment. It appears that TEAS was effective in autistic children who showed passive and aloof behavior, but not in those who were active but odd. The plasma level of AVP was significantly higher in the TEAS group than in the control group after the intervention. In addition, the change in the plasma AVP level paralleled the improvement of some of the behavior factors in CARS, including adaptation to environmental change, listening response, perceptive response and fear or anxiety. It is concluded that TEAS is effective for the treatment of autistic children with a passive and aloof social interaction style. Changes in plasma levels of AVP and possibly OXT may be involved in mediating the therapeutic effect of TEAS.
针刺可提高精氨酸加压素（AVP）和催产素（OXT）的脑水平，已知它们参与哺乳动物社会行为的调节。经皮穴位电刺激（TEAS）常用于临床以产生类似于穴位针刺的类似刺激。在本研究中，TEAS 被应用于自闭症儿童，以评估其治疗效果。76 名接受康复训练的自闭症儿童分为 2 组：每天接受 TEAS 治疗 30 分钟，每周 5 天，共 12 周（n=37）和未接受 TEAS 治疗的对照组（n=39）。使用一系列评定量表进行疗效评估。治疗前后采用酶联免疫吸附法（EIA）测定血浆 AVP 和 OXT 水平。TEAS 组在儿童自闭症评定量表（CARS）的情绪反应、恐惧或焦虑、智力关系的水平/一致性以及一般印象方面较对照组有显著改善，自闭症行为检查表（ABC）的感觉和相关因素也有所改善。此外，接受的食物种类在 TEAS 治疗后增加。TEAS 似乎对表现出被动和冷漠行为的自闭症儿童有效，但对表现活跃但古怪的儿童无效。干预后，TEAS 组的 AVP 血浆水平明显高于对照组。此外，AVP 血浆水平的变化与 CARS 中一些行为因素的改善平行，包括适应环境变化、听力反应、感知反应和恐惧或焦虑。结论：TEAS 对具有被动和冷漠社交互动方式的自闭症儿童有效。AVP 和可能的 OXT 血浆水平的变化可能参与介导 TEAS 的治疗效果。
